Everybody was always talkin' at Fred Neil

Everybody was always talkin' at Fred Neil. He preferred searching for dolphins in the sea.

Fred Neil was one of the more compelling folk-rockers to emerge from Greenwich Village in the mid-’60s. His music was moody, bluesy, and melodic; his voice rich and deep, his songs intensely personal. 

He recorded and played with many of the emerging talents of the day including Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills and John Sebastian. The Jefferson Airplane featured his “Other Side of This Life”  prominently in their concerts, and dedicated the songs (“Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil” and “House at Pooneil Corner”) to him. 

On the B-side of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” is Neil’s “Candy Man” and "The Dolphins" was recorded by Tim Buckley. Most famously, Harry Nilsson recorded Neil's “Everybody’s Talkin'” as the theme to the movie Midnight Cowboy after Neil's own version of the song was rejected.

For all his tangential influence and cult status, Neil himself remained an enigmatic figure, shrouded in mystery. His recorded output is sparse consisting of several albums in the mid late '60's, the  best of which, "Fred Neil" contains "Everybody's Talkin'" and "The Dolphins".   

He returned to his home in Coconut Grove, Florida and remained a recluse never recording under his own name again and emerging only on rare occasions before slipping into obscurity.

John Sebastian, later of the Lovin' Spoonful, has acknowledged Neil's influence and wrote "Coconut Grove" the lyrics of which include: "It's really true how nothing matters/no mad, mad world and no mad hatters./And no one's pitching cause there ain't no batters/in Coconut Grove" in tribute.

Fred Neil passed away in 2001. One can only hope that he found what he was searching for.

Everybody's Talkin'

Everybody's Talkin' Live

The Dolphins with John Sebastian

Sugaree

Green Rocky Road